1. Field of the Disclosed Subject Matter
The present disclosed subject matter relates to a food container for packaging and serving of food items, such as chicken nuggets, french fries, and other bite-size foods. Particularly, the present disclosed subject matter is directed to a container for holding food items, wherein the container has a lid moveable between open and closed positions. With the lid in the closed position, the container serves as a secure and reliable packaging carton, although the lid can be configured to allow for venting of hot food items if desired. In the open position, the lid provides a support for a receptacle containing a condiment or the like for dipping of food product contained within the container.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of food items, such as french fries, onion rings, chicken nuggets, popcorn shrimp, and other bite-size foods, are often served from small paperboard containers. These food containers can be pouch-shaped, such as commonly used for french fries, or can be box-shaped and have a lid to contain the food item, such as deli items or the like.
A number of food products are often dipped into sauces or condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise, before consumption. Many food service establishments provide bulk containers of these condiments and small paper or plastic cups into which the condiment can be dispensed. Alternatively, the condiments may come prepackaged in a sealed container.
If the food product is consumed by a person while seated at a table, the condiment containers can be placed on the table. However, if a person wishes to walk with the container or to eat the food product while driving a vehicle, the use of a condiment becomes more difficult. Both the condiment cup and food container must be held in one hand while the other hand grasps an item of food and dips it in the condiment.
Various attempts have been made to address this problem by providing food containers with compartments for holding a condiment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,957 to Yocum and U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,429 to Cordle show containers having interior pockets that can be filled with condiments. However, pockets such as these can be inadvertently squeezed, leading to condiment spills either into the container or onto the user. These pockets also make the containers more difficult to assemble and more costly to produce. U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,364 to Shaw and U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,631 to Berger show complex folding shelves formed separately from a container and glued or otherwise attached to the container for supporting a condiment receptacle. Such attachments also add to the cost of the container and are more difficult to assemble. In addition, these known techniques do not securely retain a condiment receptacle when the food container is carried by a user or balanced in a moving vehicle. Additional containers that attempt to address these and other problems are provided in U.S. Pat Nos. 6,053,403; 6,216,946; and 6,561,414 to Cai, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
It is also known that certain, food items, such as fried chicken, emit moisture or water vapor along with latent heat stored in the food due to cooking and heating. Some of this latent heat and moisture can condense on and be reabsorbed by the food item itself, making the food item soggy, less crispy, and tough to eat. Also, the water vapor can condense on the interior surfaces of the container and drip down towards the bottom of the container for the bottom pieces of the food item to absorb. If air circulation adjacent to and around the food item is poor, the water reabsorption by the food item increases since the latent heat and the resultant water vapor is further prevented from circulating away from the food item. Further, if air from inside the container not allowed to be exchanged with the air from outside the container, condensation of the water vapor on the inside of the container is more likely. Even if a small amount of water vapor escapes from the food item and condenses, or is prevented from circulating away from the food item, this amount can be enough to make the food item undesirable.
It therefore is desirable to provide a food container with a condiment holder that is integrally formed with a food container and capable of securely retaining a condiment receptacle even when the food container is carried or jarred, along with a secure lid to contain the food item and keep the food item warm yet allow sufficient venting to prevent the food item from becoming soggy or otherwise undesirable.